Gaius Marcius Rutilus (also seen as "Rutulus") was the first

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

and censor of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, and was

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

four times. He was first elected consul in 357 BC, then appointed as dictator the following year in order to deal with an invasion by the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

which had reached as far as the ancient salt-works on the coast. He surprised the enemy's camp, captured 8,000 of the enemy and drove the rest out of Roman territory, Antony Kamm, ''The Romans, An Introduction'', p. 13. for which he was granted a triumph by the people, against the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

's wishes. Rutilus was again elected consul in 352 BC. At the end of his term, he ran for censor and won, despite patrician opposition. He was also consul in 344 BC and 342 BC, when he led the army in the

Samnite Wars The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...

. His son of the same name was tribune of the plebs in 311 BC and consul in 310 BC. According to Fergus Millar, this son was one of the first plebeian augurs under the '' lex Ogulnia'' and also held the position of censor twice, the first time in 294 BC and the second time in 265 BC. Fergus Millar, ''The Roman Republic and Augustan Revolution''

Sources

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

. '' History of Rome'', Boo
VII
h1>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcius Rutilus, Gaius Ancient Roman dictators Ancient Roman generals 4th-century BC Roman consuls Rutilus, Gaius